


things you said too quietly

by greedlings



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Eavesdropping, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-28 16:07:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12610408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greedlings/pseuds/greedlings
Summary: lance finds that the castle hallways have a special calmness during the hours of the night. little did he know, some days were not as calm as the others.





	things you said too quietly

**Author's Note:**

> this was yet another tumblr prompt!! thanks taylor!!!
> 
> this was... hard to write for some reason?? like i knew what i wanted to say and where i wanted it to go but for some reason i,, just couldn't??? needless to say this isn't a work i'm extremely proud of lol. either way i wanted to get this out and it's not /bad/ so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

To the team, Lance was the loud one who could never keep his thoughts in his head- or out of his pants. He had earned this reputation early on with his constant flirting and general sociability- the one who never kept things to himself. Even Hunk and Pidge bought into the character, to an extent of course.

He did his best to maintain this character when he wasn’t alone; _it’s for the team's sake_ , he would tell himself, though deep down he knew that it was really his way of coping with the current situation.

The character broke when Lance was alone, however, leaving him grasping at the edge of his tear-stained pillow for comfort during long nights of restlessness.

After a while, Lance resorted to wandering the castle at night. The large expanses of hallways felt liminal during the quiet hours of the night, which somehow eased Lance's feelings. He could even talk to himself, something he hadn’t really been able to do since leaving the garrison.

The halls of the castle were quiet, and Lance felt like he could breathe.

Or, they were quiet _most_ of the time.

* * * * *

Lance had never seen Allura as one to bottle up her emotions: sure, she had never _cried_ in front of the team, but she had never hidden her emotions.

So Lance was quite surprised when he walked past Allura’s room to hear her crying.

Her sobs were quiet and gentle, but riddled with pain and sorrow. Lance could feel his heart weep with every one of Alluras sobs; he wished he could hold her, comfort her, tell her that eventually, things would be okay.

Before he could process what he was doing, Lance sniffed.

He immediately covered his mouth with his hand, but it was too late. Lance could hear the sudden stop of Allura’s breathing, the creaking of her mattress, the shuffling of blankets.

“Who’s there?” Allura asked, her stern princess voice almost hiding the fact that she had been crying only seconds ago.

Lance decided that it was better for him to fess up now- for both him and the team. “It’s just me.” He stepped into the doorway with his hands beside his head.

Allura looked awful; her eyes seemed sunken in, and her cheeks were still pink from crying. The look she was giving Lance, however, made his heart flutter with some admiration and a lot of fear. She seemed enraged- rightfully so, considering the circumstances. Her eyes bore holes through Lance's skull, and Lance wished that he could back out of the doorway and run away.  
But her face softened after a few seconds.

“Oh, it’s only you.”

Lance dropped his hands. “Yeah, just me.” For a moment, Lance stood awkwardly in Allura’s doorway. Allura seemed just as awkward, avoiding eye contact as much as possible. “Umm, I’ll just…” Lance backed up a bit, pointing his thumbs down the hallway.

“No!” Allura snapped. Startled, Lance stopped mid-step.

“I think I should-”

  
“Please.” Allura's voice cracked, and Lance watched her swallow back another sob. She patted the bed beside her, inviting Lance to sit down. He took her invitation.

For another awkward moment, Lance sat beside Allura. He could feel the mood of the room shift, however, from a hollow sadness to a feeling of quiet relief. It was calming, but Lance could still see Allura’s eyes threatening tears.

He sighed, “So, are you-”

At that, Allura broke out sobbing. Alarmed, Lance’s body tensed; Lance knew how to deal with himself when he was crying, as well as his siblings, but Allura?

Panicking, Lance wrapped his arms around the princess.

Internally, Lance scolded himself. He didn’t know much about royalty, but he was _pretty sure_ you weren’t supposed to hug them like an old friend. He did anyway, and he felt Allura’s face dig into the crook of his neck.

He let his head rest on top of hers. Her hair was soft, softer than anything Lance had felt since he left Earth. It reminded Lance of home, of being there for his family in tough times, of the warmth of his mother's arms.

Lance’s mind went to his family. How were they doing without him? Were they struggling? Did they believe that he was dead? Lance wished more than anything that he could see them, talk to them, tell them that he’d be home soon.

A single tear made its way down Lance’s cheek. He chided himself; he was supposed to be comforting Allura, not thinking of himself.

By this point, Allura’s sobs had drastically decreased. “Do you want to talk about anything?” Lance asked. Allura’s head shook slightly. She pulled away from Lance and sniffled, pushing a few stray hairs out of her face...

“No, I-I just… thank you.” Allura wiped under her eyes, then smiled, “I didn’t know how much I needed… that.”

“That?”

Allura shook her head again dismissively, “Never mind. Thank you, still.”

  
Lance felt his face heat up, “Anytime, Allura. Do you need anything else? I can get you a glass of water, or-”

“Stay with me.”

If Lance’s face was any warmer, he was sure he’d erupt in a blow that would put Mount Vesuvius to shame. He tried to stammer out a response, but Allura spoke up before Lance could say a coherent word. “Please, stay with me tonight.”

All Lance could do was nod in response.

The next few minutes were a blur of shuffling and getting comfortable. Lance ended up sitting up, his back against the wall, and Allura’s head in his lap. He had his hand gently placed on Allura’s head. Never in his life did Lance think that somehow he’d have the prettiest girl he’d ever met nestled in his lap, sound asleep.

But here he was.

Allura snored gently, and Lance couldn’t help the small smile that pulled at his face. Slowly, he moved his hand onto Allura’s shoulder.

“I love you,” he whispered before falling asleep himself.

“I love you too,” Allura whispered back, once she was sure that Lance was asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> i... love my kids, also lance is Super Relatable
> 
> comments/constructive criticism is appreciated! november will be my month of writing/improving so i'd really appreciate it lol


End file.
